Hyperdimension Neptunia Rebirth: The Power of Choice
by Kinji Takakura
Summary: Takes place after the events of Tales of Xillia 2 True Ending. Ludger Kresnik went beyond what was expected to protect what was important to him. With his life gone and role ended, he and his brother find themselves reborn in Gamindustri with no recollection of their old lives for some reason. Now, what choice will Ludger make this time? Will he once again create his perfect world?
1. Prologue

Hi everyone, Kinji here with a new reboot of my neptunia crossover fic.

Now let me just say a few things. I'll admit choosing between main characters for this crossover was one of the hardest things I've ever thought of.

I was divided between Ludger from ToX2 and Haseo from .hack. Both characters have ups and downs to them and despite being a silent protagonist, I actually enjoyed Ludger's role in Tales of Xillia 2

And after investing a hundred hours beforehand, playing it, I knew I had to choose Ludger.

Now this chapter in particular does involves a lot of spoilers from the game so those have u who haven't finished it and don't want to be spoiled, plz leave now and come back once ur done.

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Alright? K, so my reason for having Ludger is simple. His life sucks. He and Julius really need a break cuz those two had gone through hell in the game pretty much. And the true ending route gave me so many feels that I wanted to write this fic out of respect for Ludger and the game which I enjoyed so much, prolly cuz of its darker story. I know this game had multiple endings but there's a reason why the true ending is what it is and I characterize Ludger based off that.

And also, bcz of the true ending, it seemed like a great starting point for this fic for me and at the very least, Ludger and Julius will have a permanent reason to stay in Gamindustri.

Don't get me wrong, I also liked Haseo during my time playing .hack, but the lack of .hack games ever since redemption for the ps2 makes it hard for me to stay motivated.

Anyways, this is the first chapter, I hope everything goes well with this.

**Prologue: The second gift of life**

**Part 0**

It only has been a few days since humanity has passed Origin's Trial.

All the fractured dimensions were destroyed by the wish made to Origin.

Humanity has once again proven themselves worthy of saving in the Great Spirit's eyes.

However, such a thing could not have happened without loss and sacrifice.

Many have died. Even more have suffered.

Countless worlds had to be destroyed to accomplish what had to be done.

A young man was also forced to kill his own brother and even give up his own life in order to save the world, and protect what was dear to him.

But, that story had passed now.

The story of the man who surpassed Origin's will has ended, and a new tale was about to begin.

Origin and Chronos continued their duty to contain the miasma in a dark space, completely closed off from the rest of the world.

However...

"Hmm, this is unexpected."

Origin murmurs that quietly to himself. Chronos overheard and said,

"It's rare to hear such words coming from you. What happened?"

"It seems there has been a slight error in the soul purification process."

Chronos raised one of his brows,

"An error?"

"Perhaps that isn't the best way to describe it. A 'crack' or 'hole' in the system. Those may be more accurate."

"Enough with the metaphors. Just get to the point."

"I wasn't speaking metaphorically. Their indeed seems to be a hole in the process and because of it, a pair of souls have leaked out from it and are now aimlessly drifting in the dimensional abyss.."

"This is the first time it has happened?"

Chronos mentioned but Origin merely nods his head,

"Yes. Even I wasn't aware of such a gap until now. A fix to this should be easy to apply."

"It's rare to see you make a mistake like this in the first place. As for those lost souls now lost in the abyss, now that there are no more fractured dimensions to travel to, I suppose the only place for them to go would be..."

Origin nods his head,

"Yes, they will continue to drift until they leave the boundaries of our universe. Once that happens, they will be outside our jurisdiction. Even our power would not be able to interfere with them."

"Leaving them to freely drift into whatever universe they happen to run into and be reborn into that new world. And since they haven't got through soul purification, their individual identities will remain intact."

Chronos says it calmly, something Origin had noticed.

"You seem unconcerned."

Cronos crosses his arms, and quietly shuts his eyes.

"Naturally. No matter what the form, humans are humans. What happens to them are of no concern to me...Unless..."

Chronos opens his eyes. He narrows his gaze upon Origin

"The identities of the souls...What are they?"

Origin gave Chronos an answer that he didn't want to hear.

"Julius Kresnik and...Ludger Kresnik."

Hearing those names, Chronos stresses out a heavy, heavy sigh.

"Millions of humans and they had to be a Kresnik...Unbelievable..."

The situation has become more troublesome. Since their souls have yet to be purified, the power of the Chromatus that he himself had given their family should still linger within them.

There's no real guarantee whether or not they could still use that power if they drift out to a new world since its deeply-rooted to their world but considering its power, it might be too dangerous to even take that chance.

"I suppose I should retrieve them then before they happen to drift too far?"

Chronos was about to go but Origin interrupts,

"No, that won't be necessary."

"What?"

Chronos was surprised and Origin explained,

"There's no need to go out of your way. Their role in this world finished when they passed the trial where most Kresnik's failed. There's no need to bring them back into this world, even as a new person."

"Their souls likely still possess the Chromatus. Do you think it's wise to leave such power unchecked and at the mercy of a foreign universe? It could inevitably bring calamity and we won't be able to do anything about it."

"Perhaps. But that would be entirely up to them, wouldn't it? To destroy a world or save it, that is for the humans to decide. It's that freedom they have is what makes them so interesting. I only regret not being able to see what those two brothers will choose for themselves this time."

Origin's words, left Chronos slightly disturbed,

"Origin, could you...possibly be enjoying this?"

After that, the souls of Julius and Ludger Kresnik continued to drift through the dimensional abyss until they were accepted into a new dimension, far different from the one they knew.

Their untouched souls would be reborn, as the same person, but with new memories, living a new life in this new world.

A world called Gamindustri...

**Part 1**

**Years later...**

I hear a sound...

It was a low, buzzing sound that echoed into my fading consciousness.

Ah, that's right...I know what this sound is.

The sound of an alarm clock annoyingly buzzing early in the morning.

"Umm..."

My eyelids felt heavy. I didn't feel like opening them right now.

I ruffle around the sheets for a bit. Pulling my hand out, I search for the snooze button using my hand, hitting a few things like my phone and wallet until I hit the snooze button of the alarm sitting on the table next to my bed.

Five more minutes...

I plan to wake up in another 5 minutes...

Usually when people say that, they end up lying in bed for about half-an-hour until they force themselves out of the bed.

Usually, I'm no exception.

I continue to sleep and try to keep my eyes shut.

However, a strong light keeps hitting my eyes. I try covering my head with a blanket but that didn't work.

I opened my eyes and for a moment, I was hailed by a bright light.

It was then that the alarm clock that I turned off entered my line of vision.

I looked at the time and...

"...Crap!"

I immediately sprung up from my bed, tossing my bed sheet aside. A sudden energy runs through my body, an energy that would suddenly burst out of people the very moment their mind realizes that they were late.

That was because I was late.

I saw the time on my digital alarm clock, and I realized I had already overslept by half-an-hour already.

I make a quick run into the closet and tried to change out of my pajamas and into my day clothes as soon as possible.

In a world like this, you can normally get away with sleeping in when you're around my age.

But today was a special day for me and I couldn't afford that luxury.

Also, I'd rather not get another pep talk from my brother.

Ah, that reminds me, I suppose some introductions are necessary.

This world I live in, it's called Gamindustri...Hmm, it really rolls off the tongue, that name...

Anyways, Gamindustri is a land where CPUs rule and game mascots live away from the realm of humans.

CPUs are pretty much goddesses I suppose. Gamindustri is ruled by four CPUs who preside over four different nations.

Let's see, they taught me this in school.

I believe, CPU White Heart rules Lowee, the Land of White Serenity.

CPU Black Heart rules Lastation, the Land of Black Regality.

CPU Green Heart rules Leanbox, the land of Green Pastures.

And CPU Purple Heart rules Planeptune, the Land of Purple Progress.

I never met them myself but I have seen them on TV during news broadcasts for public events.

These four nations struggle for supremacy, and the constant shifts in control make the world stable.

I heard at one point, the four CPUs battled against each other over rule of Gamindustri. That was called the Console War.

However, to stop a powerful, malevolent deity and her vile scheme, the four nations had banded together and successfully thwarted her ambitions.

Or at least, it was something like that.

History can get pretty warped when people start throwing wild speculations everywhere.

Time passed, and Gamindustri became the peaceful realm it is now.

Of course, that's what I was taught growing up. It seems to have happened before my time but due to that event, the four nations seems to have taken a truce-like stance with each other and now they're war looks like a friendly rivalry now.

Oh, I almost forgot.

I'm Ludger. Ludger Kresnik. I'm 18 years old. For as long as I can remember, I've lived a small, humble life with my brother here in a small apartment complex in Planeptune.

"Hey, Ludger! You alive in there? Chop-Chop!"

I can hear my brother calling me from the living room outside.

I quickly respond back with a tired sigh.

"Alright..."

After quickly slipping on my blue dress shirt, I hastily threw a yellow tie around my neck.

Before I left, I quickly made my bed and flatten the sheets.

Overall, I live a relatively peaceful life here in Planeptune.

Although...

There are times where I feel like I'm missing something, like there was something important that I forgot.

But at the same time, I feel like it's nothing that I should worry about too much. I'm not sure how but whenever I try to figure out what the source of that feeling was, I'd eventually shrug it off and start to believe that whatever it was, I had nothing to worry about because I know they can do it.

"They'?

I start to shake my head to try and shake off this weird confusion.

No time to space out now, the day's started and I'm already late.

**Part 2**

I come out of my room in a haste, shutting the door behind me as I continued. There, in the living room, I see my brother already sitting at the breakfast table, playing with a large, fat cat that was lying on top of the table where we eat.

I hear the kettle sitting on the stovetop in the kitchen was already boiling.

The moment my brother noticed me stepping out, he rests his face on his hand while looking at me,

"Sleeping in on the first day? Smooth move..."

Ouch, he scolds me harshly. There wasn't really much I can say that doesn't sound like an excuse.

Saying things like 'I was up all night, playing video games' would actually make things worse so I opted for the silent treatment.

"Seems like someone is ready for a pep talk from his brother."

He speaks to the cat, sitting on the table, who only responds with a prompt 'Meow...'

A pep talk from my brother, huh? This early in the morning, it would probably put me back to sleep.

"I'll pass..."

When I said that, a small smile appeared on my brother's face.

"Yeah, good call. There's no reason to coddle you. I mean, you're not a little kid anymore. Today's the day, you finally start working to earn your keep."

The man sitting at the breakfast table was Julius Kresnik. He's my older brother. For as long as I can remember, he has taken care of me in place of our parents. I never really knew what my parents looked like or who they even are. Julius told me that they were eaten by monsters but I was so young at the time, I can barely remember it.

So ever since then, Julius has been my acting guardian. He's really amazing. I admire him and one day, I hope to grow up to be just as a great a man he is.

He's cool, mature, understanding and a great fighter. If he had any flaw, it would be...well, he can't really cook even to save his own life. Now that I think about it, I'd say housework in general can be a bit of an Achilles heel for him.

I suppose no one can really be perfect, but seriously though, my brother's amazing.

Julius works for The Guild, an agency that fulfills quests for clients in exchange for rewards. There, he is one of the Guild's top agents and has done more quests there than anyone.

As for me, I naturally want to work at the same place as him. The requirements to become an employee weren't strict. A basic education and some physical training is all that's needed to tackle the jobs offered at the Guild, especially the ones that involve fighting dangerous monsters.

However, starting out in a workplace like that naturally means starting at the bottom and working my way up, like Julius did.

Julius was a prodigy though. I think he's been doing work like this since he was 12 in order to support us and by the time he reached my age, he's already renown as one of the best of the best.

And since I'm his younger brother, the bar has been set pretty high. I need to try my best in order to reach those expectations.

Today, after breakfast, Julius is going to give me my first assignment. I'm a little nervous but I'm also pretty excited as well.

I wonder what I'll be doing? Hunting monsters? Looking for materials? ...Now that I think about it, don't the guilds have another type of jobs?

Oh and the fat cat? His name is Rollo. We took him in one day and gave him a name. I'm not sure what inspired us to give him the name 'Rollo', it just somehow came to us.

Back then, Rollo used to be a tiny kitten; now, it's a miracle that he can even fit through a door. Well, that's inevitable I suppose, since Julius and I wouldn't stop spoiling him with food. Thank goodness, he wasn't a dog. We'd probably need a trolley now just to give him walks if that were the case.

"Meow..."

Speaking of which, Rollo was affectionately rubbing his head against my leg. To most animals, particularly dogs, such an action is how they display their affection.

However, in Rollo's case, that body language basically translates to 'Give me food.'

I smiled a bit and Julius says,

"Looks like Rollo's hungry too. Let's eat."

"Yeah, just give me a minute..."

My brother is usually busy so naturally, I'm left behind to take care of the house. Of course, that means I'm the cook of the house, preparing all our meals. It wasn't easy at the beginning but now I'm quite good at it. I suppose you could say I even enjoy cooking.

"What's the special today, chef?"

Julius asks. I thought about it for a moment. Considering the ingredients we have in the kitchen, the best thing to make today for breakfast for me,

"I suppose I'll make tomato omelettes today."

When I said that, I head straight for the kitchen. Julius was smiling wryly as he said,

"Oh, I see what you're getting at. Trying to butter me up with tomatoes, huh? Of course, that just might work."

Julius loves eating tomatoes. Everyone is entitled to their likes and dislikes with respect to food.

I began to work in the kitchen. Meanwhile, Julius was playing with Rollo.

For a moment, I decide to take a brief look at the two of them.

The fat cat goes up to Julius, who then bends down towards Rollo to pick him up.

"How about you, Rollo? Fancy some deep-fried canary, maybe?"

Julius grabs Rollo from under his arms and lifts them up. My brother sure is strong. Most people would've broken a back or two trying to lift that fat cat.

Julius seems to have noticed the way Rollo's belly seems to shuffle around while picking him up.

If I had to describe Rollo's belly, it's like pudding covered in fur.

"Or how about some diet Kitty Krisps? Gotta lift you from the knees, big boy."

Julius gives Rollo a hug. However, that cat tends to be touchy when it comes to personal space. He begins to press his front paw on Julius' face while trying to get away.

I can't help but watch that scene with a smile on my face before I went back to work, preparing breakfast.

Things like this were a daily occurrence in our lives.

To be honest, I've always thought my life would always be like this. It was just me and my brother, but we were able to make a decent living for ourselves throughout the years.

A quiet, simple life like this was more than I could ever ask for.

So I didn't really ask for anything else, nor would I expect anything to change.

Yeah, that's right, a life like this was good enough for me.

However, at the time, I didn't realize how much that life was going to change from this point on.

**Part 3**

It was after breakfast and I stood at the sink, washing dishes. Because it was only me, Julius and Rollo living here, it wasn't a whole much for me to do. It only takes about 5 minutes or so for me to finish cleaning up after breakfast.

Julius was watching TV from the breakfast table. It was one of those rare times on the television where they would show something other than anime.

Although I wouldn't call it news either...

"A rare monster has been reported by our scouts at Kobaba Ruins in Leanbox. This monster is said to drop a rare material used to forge powerful weapons that cannot be obtained in stores. Everyone should be advised that this monster is quite leveled and shouldn't be approached without sufficient leveling and gaining experience points beforehand. Also the drop rate is reported to be about 5% so anyone interested in hunting it should prepare to spend quite a bit of time in the Kobaba Ruins."

It seems all we normally get is news like this. I wasn't sure exactly what was the intention of these news headlines.

Are they trying to tell people to stay away from the monster or hunt it down for the sake of those rare materials?

I merely shrug my shoulders while drying my hands off with a few paper towels.

"It seems like the monsters are growing more wild. It looks like the work will be piling up."

Julius says with a bittersweet smile. I start to look at the television while hovering next to him.

A majority of jobs posted by the guilds usually involve monsters in some ways so naturally, Julius would be affected by this kind of thing.

I have yet to figure out whether this is considered good or bad news though for him.

On one hand, the sight of a giant monster appearing could impeded his work.

On the other hand, if he has money signs in his eyes, it could be seen as a chance to cash-in.

Man, monster hunting work sure is complicated.

"You start your first day with guild work and a powerful monster suddenly appears. Most people would take that as a bad omen."

Julius makes that joke while looking at me. In the meantime, I began praying the job Julius has for me doesn't take me to that place.

"Say, I should really give you something to commemorate your new job, shouldn't I?"

Hoh? In that case, I'd like to get that new console that was just released in Lastation. I've had my eye on that one ever since they unveiled it at E3.

...Just kidding. I wouldn't even have time for video games now anyways.

"I don't really need anything."

I tell that to Julius.

"Ah, c'mon, it's your special day. Nothing too crazy, though, no ponies."

I wasn't going to suggest such a thing anyways. The closest thing to a pony in my mind are those horsebirds and those things are just unnatural to me.

Julius' eyes suddenly center around my neck-tie. Seeing it, he stands up from his chair.

"Well, how about a nice neck-tie instead?"

Noticing how poorly done my tie was, Julius starts to fix it for me.

It was my first time wearing a neck-tie to be honest. I'm not really used to dressing up like this.

"With guild work, you'll be dealing with all kinds of people. Gotta stay sharp."

"Yeah, I know..."

He makes it one last fix on my tie and tightens it. I could feel it hugged around my neck, choking me slightly.

It seems this is just something I'll have to get used to.

He pats my shoulder with my hand and says,

"Well, now you're all set! Shall we get on to business?"

"...! Right!"

I reply while nodding my head enthusiastically.

This is it! My first assignment. I need to stay psyched and motivated through the whole day.

While I wore a serious expression, Julius walks over to the refrigerator. His face was also serious.

"Now, you know, normally the standard entry-level job for Guild members would be to hunt Dogoos in places like Virtua Forest. However, I prepared a special assignment for you."

My eyes widened and a bead of sweat starts to crawl down my temple.

"Y-You did?"

I gulped, and I start to become even more nervous now. Julius hand-picked a job for me. Now that I realize that, I definitely can't fail this first assignment...!

I start to feel the pressure. Did he pick an easy job? Or did he choose a really hard one? Do I even have what it takes to meet his expectations? All these questions popped into my head.

Then, Julius takes it a small box out from the refrigerator. I noticed it before while I was cooking but I didn't really knew what was in there.

I was certain Julius was the one who put it in there and I just assumed it was some tomato cupcakes he was saving for himself or something.

Julius' face looks stern and tense. The expression in his eyes remain hidden by the lens of his glasses.

He approaches me, carefully holding the box with both hands, like it housed a priceless, one-of-a-kind gem.

Well, actually since its Julius, I wouldn't be surprised if it was the world's only Golden Tomato or something like that.

"Listen very carefully, Ludger. I'll only say this once: the very future of Planeptune depends on whether or not you can deliver the contents of this package to their Basillicom, and pass it over to the people there. Do you think you can handle that?"

S-Such a huge weight on my shoulders. Does he realize what he was saying? Basically the lives of everyone in this country are placed on my shoulders.

What kind of assignment was this? Was it really a good idea to give such a job to someone like me?

I mean, if I mess up then...

Horrible images come to my mind. Think the city of Planeptune, except on fire.

...I can't afford a single mistake.

There's no way I can do it. I'm too inexperienced.

But wait, I don't think Julius would even offer such an assignment if he didn't think I was capable.

My older brother is willing to entrust this task to me.

Then shouldn't I, as the younger brother, rise to this occasion and make his older brother proud?

Julius must have very high expectations for me. I can't let him down.

"I-I think I can do it."

"You think?"

"No, I will do it."

I nod my head, now more sure than ever.

I try to keep the determination on my face. No matter what, I must not waver.

Julius smiles, entrusting me with the box as he pushes it into my arms.

"Very good. I'll leave it to you, Ludger. Be careful with the box and don't let it shake too much. Also, it needs to stay refrigerated. There's no telling what might happen if it stays out for too long."

"I-I see..."

At that moment, my goal changed from 'becoming a great man like Julius' to 'get through the day alive'.

**Part 4**

"How did this happen? I thought I would just be out hunting Dogoos at Virtua Forest for my first job like a tutorial in an RPG. Now I'm left with this important assignment..."

"Meow..."

"More importantly, what was Julius thinking? If this was such an important assignment, then why didn't he do it then?"

"Meow..."

"Right? I mean, Julius is a top agent. A task as important as this shouldn't be trust to a beginner like me."

"Meow!"

"Yeah, I know. There's nothing I can do about it now. I already accepted now I need to see this job all the way to the end."

I let out a big sigh, dropping my shoulders.

Right now, I was walking through the streets of Planeptune, talking with Rollo, who decided to tag along with me.

They often say that a dog is man's best friend, but when I look at Rollo, I sometimes disagree.

While walking through the populated streets, I carefully held the chilled steel box in front of me with both hands, careful not to let it accidentally bump into anyone on the streets.

While walking, I was making guesses as to what the contents were. Based on Julius' words, I was too scared to actually look inside so I just played around with ideas.

Mystery Item Idea #1: A powerful crystal that can be dangerous if left in the wrong hands.

Mystery Item Idea #2: An unstable isotope.

Mystery Item Idea #3: A thermonuclear bomb.

If the third one is true, I'm going to toss this things right to the edge of the city.

I keep playing with ideas while heading towards the Basillicom. It isn't hard to find. In fact, it was a large tower-like building at the center of the city that can be seen anywhere.

All I had to is move the same direction as the Basillicom and eventually, I'll get there.

"Now that I think about, it's the first time you and I ever went to the Basillicom, huh, Rollo?"

"Meow..."

"I wonder who we'll meet there..."

I start to get nervous. The Basilicom is an organization that directly serves the_goddesses_and governs each land.

The place where people go to worship the Goddesses and also the place where the Goddesses reside. There are two parts to a Basilicom. The sanctuary where the goddesses are taken care of and the parliament for political activity. There is a Basilicom on each Landmass. The only way to travel to another landmass is to get permission from the Basilicom on the current landmass one is on.

Long ago, Basilicoms were created by CPUs (Goddesses). Basilcoms assist goddesses in governing the world. They also perform missionary work to spread their beliefs.

A Basilicom is split into two sections, one being the Sanctuary where the Goddesses are cared for, and the parliament, which is for political activity.

When I think about it like that, there is probably a chance I'll meet Purple Heart. I never met any of the goddesses personally and I've only see them during public events.

So naturally, I was feeling nervous. And this important box which I suspect is a bomb isn't helping me ease the tension.

After going a few streets and crossing a few intersections, I eventually made it to the Basillicom's front door.

As expected, the entrance was a set of twin doors that looked like it reached the skies.

It was pretty quiet and that only made me even more tense.

"Umm, hello...?"

I call out to the door. Naturally, the door didn't answer. That was stupid of me.

I re-thought my approach and simply went for the most orthodox way to get their attention.

I knocked on the door. My fist lightly hits the door, releasing a light tapping sound.

"Hello? I have a package to deliver to this Basillicom, to a Miss Neptune! If someone can come to the door to confirm this, that'll be much appreciated!"

...After a few seconds, there was still no answer at the door.

Maybe they didn't hear me...?

It would feel rude if I just barged in so I take a step back and look both to the left and then to the right, scanning the edge of the doors.

"Is there a doorbell around here I can use...?"

While murmuring that,

"Meow..."

I can hear Rollo from under me. I look down and I see Rollo sitting right in front of my feet. His eyes seems unnaturally focused at what was in front of him.

"What is it, Rollo? Did you find something?"

I noticed that he was staring at a scrap sheet of paper sitting at the foot of the door. The strip of tape at the top of the sheet looked like it was holding onto the door like its life depended on it.

Even a gentle breeze would be more than enough to sweep the paper away so I bent down and grabbed it before it could run.

I look at the piece of paper pinched between my fingers and noticed,

"It looks like a note was stuck to the door. And rather poorly at that."

I felt sympathy for that worn down strip of tape. More than that, my eyes hurt upon reading this crude handwriting in front of me.

What is this...?

The person who wrote this must either be an infant or a chicken.

I couldn't really make sense of all the pen scratches.

I didn't even think what I was looking at to be words. It looks like somebody just drew lines everywhere.

Let's see...

I squint my eyes as narrow as possible and word by word, I slowly began to decipher this encrypted text.

"Out...playing...with...Nep...Jr...At...Virtua...Forest...Be...Back...Whenever...P...S...If...Histy...asks...where...we...were...tell her...we're...working...Nep."

I think that's what this note says. Apparently, this person called Nep has decided to sneak out to play with...Nep. Jr. I'm assuming Nep is short for Neptune...Or Nep. Jr is short for Neptune.

...Then why the note?

"Are you serious? What am I supposed to do now?"

It doesn't look like anyone else is here.

I certainly don't want to hold onto this box for much longer and I can't exactly just leave the package right at the front door like some kind of gift basket. Someone might take it...Or worse.

And the note was so vague that I have no idea when exactly they're gonna come back.

I juggled between the few options before me, until there was only two left for me to choose from.

[Screw this! I'm going home!]

[Maybe I'll find them in Virtua Forest.]

...Well, this is a no-brainer.

I wasn't even sure why I even considered that first one.

"Virtua Forest shouldn't be too far from here. If we're lucky, we can run into Neptune and deliver the package off to them along the way. Let's go, Rollo."

"Meow..."

I turn around and head down the one path that leads outside the city.

Virtua Forest was just on the outskirts of the city. Julius took me there a few times when he was teaching me how to fight against other monsters.

It was then while I was walking through the streets of Planeptune, that I realized I was talking to Rollo too much in public and I got a lot of weird stares from the people who only saw a lonely guy whose only companionship was a cat...

Oh boy...

**Part 5**

Virtua Forest...It was the home of...rather weak monsters now that I think about it.

I stand at its entrance. It was a small forest but I saw lush grass and tall trees surrounding the wide, dirt path in front of me.

It wasn't a tricky area. Just a few hills here and there but it's virtually impossible to get lost in this spacious forest, especially if you already have a map of this place. I have a copy of it in my phone. It even has a positioning system to show my current location on it.

It's a place often used as a training ground for those who are just getting to know how to fight. Julius takes me here sometimes and I had my fair share of whacking Dogoos around for fun.

The primary wildlife consists of Dogoos and Tulips.

Dogoos were essentially slime-like creatures with dog-like features. Their bodies are mainly composed of some kind of clear blue gel and they possessed the face, ears and tail of an actual dog. Bringing Rollo with me might not have been a good idea, after all.

Tulips were...well, tulips. Basically, flowers with faces and violent tendencies.

It wasn't a large place. The whole area can be covered in a matter of minutes.

This isn't a place for people, so if there's anyone here, I'm willing to bet my client, Neptune is here somewhere.

"Let's go, Rollo..."

"Meow..."

Rollo walks alongside me as I continued down the dirt path.

I'll admit, bringing a fat, juicy cat in a den of monsters is quite up there in the list of stupid ideas that a human can come up with, but Rollo's a smart kitty. He always knows when to stay out of trouble and run in the first sign of danger.

It also helps that the monsters usually want nothing to do with him. Lucky cat...

We continued heading deeper into the forest. About half we in, the two of us come to a stop. Rollo's fur starts to frizz up. His paws firmly claws at the ground and he looks to the side of me,

"Meow...!"

The sound Rollo makes was a lot sharper than how he usually meows.

Such a reaction was natural. After all, our path was blocked by a couple of monsters.

Dogoos to be exact, and several of them. My eyes count 5 in all. A herd of Dogoos like this is actually quite normal.

Rather, I'd be an idiot to think that I could walk through this place without getting into a fight or two.

The Dogoos all start to aggressively bounce towards my direction.

It was clear that I had no way of getting passed here without fighting my way through.

I didn't want to turn back either.

So I was left with one option.

"Rollo, safeguard the package for me."

"Meow..."

I gently place the steel box in my hands down. Rollo waddles over to it and firmly plants his rear on the ground, sitting next to the box.

I then take a few steps forward, separating myself while keeping feet firmly planted. I stand between the Dogoos and the package.

I made sure that there was enough space behind me so that Rollo and the package don't get caught up in the fighting.

Satisfied with the 2 meter long distance I gave myself between them, I face the Dogoos bouncing towards me.

I reached behind me and drew out my weapons.

A pair of dual swords. Twin blades no longer than short swords with a firm, rubber grip specifically designed to be contorted to my hands. The blades were double-edged and yet possess a slight curve to it.

Julius was the one who custom-ordered these blades for me.

I spun the blades in a half circle, holding both the swords in a reverse grip. It was an unconventional way to wield a sword. Most sword wielders use the blade in the standard, forward grip.

It was Julius that developed this unique reverse-grip dual sword style and then taught it to me.

I'm not up to his level yet but I can handle at least a few Dogoos by myself.

This will be my first time fighting on my own, without Julius to watch out for me.

I had to be psych. Do not leave any openings.

"Haaah!"

I simply ran straight forward.

I set my sights for the Dogoo bouncing in the middle. I slashed both swords simultaneously.

I make a cut horizontally with my left blade by slashing inwards. Then I follow up with a second cut upwards using my right blade.

Like a pair of hot knives going through butter, my swords effortlessly cut the middle Dogoo's gelatin-like body into four equal parts.

The defeated Dogoo then disappears, its remains release a brief flash, break down into pixels, the space around it warps with a strange violet light before completely vanishing before my eyes.

Yeah, that happens a lot sometimes when monsters get killed. Why is that? No idea. I didn't make this world.

I'll admit, at least I don't have to worry about cleaning myself up afterwards.

Two more Dogoos bounced from my sides. One came from my left. The other from my right.

They leaped at me. Relatively, these little guys are harmless. They tackle you and it would only sting a bit.

Not to mention, feeling those sticky bodies feel gross.

I take both my blades. Using the hilt of my swords, I strike the Dogoos away, blocking their bodies before I could hit me.

I spin the grip on my left blade, holding it in a forward grip.

Bending my body until my torso was parallel with the ground, I leaped slightly off the ground, spinning my entire body around one foot.

I spun a full 360 degrees, slashing my blade while drawing a full circle around me.

Both my blades slash the two Dogoos in the air, destroying them simultaneously.

I quickly regain my stance the moment my feet touched the ground.

Three of them were defeated. Now only two were left.

I raised my head up. There was quite the distance from me and the last two Dogoos left.

I made my move before that distance could close.

"Azure Edge!"

Using the sword in my left hand, I slashed upwards through the air, releasing a blue blast of wind through the air. Travelling through the air, it blasts through, striking one of the Dogoo, killing it instantly.

This was an attack taught to me by Julius. It was an art that simply involved swinging a blade with great force, firing a blue projectile wave that deals damage to the enemy. Basically, it's just a shockwave attack that travels through the air.

Only one was left. That single Dogoo was bouncing before my eyes.

A simple attack with my swords will be more than enough. However, I wanted to take this opportunity to try something new.

I had my right foot forward. I bend my legs slightly and placed all the weight onto my back leg.

I gripped the blades in both my hands tightly as I put all my focus on the last Dogoo.

I cleared my thoughts and-

-Everything from then on, all happened in an instant.

"Falling Snow!"

I kick off the ground with my back leg, releasing an explosive speed. My body moved at that godspeed.

Falling Snow. It was a basic attack. Simply a strike done with one of my swords, in the form of a slash or a thrust. The movements themselves are basic and the attack itself is straight-forward.

However, it is a high speed attack, meant to deal the attack before the opponent realized the user had moved.

Naturally, the user had to move at high speed and strike like he was one with the air.

I spun my body once, quickly flipping the grip of my right sword.

Then I slashed my blade diagonally across in the momentum of my spin.

The blade strikes its target. But the sensation in my hand was like I'm simply cutting through air.

My feet then stopped. I now stand behind my target, on the other side of where I just launched my attack. The blade in my right hand was perfectly clean.

The body of the last Dogoo behind me was split diagonally in two, before it even realized it's been cut.

The style of fighting I have is unique. Holding a pair of dual blades in a reverse grip isn't something you normally come across.

Of course, I never came up with this style on my own. Julius taught me this style of fighting. So naturally, a lot of the moves I have were just adopted from his.

Falling Snow is one of those techniques he can do effortlessly. Julius can perform the attack even in the air, simply by launching his own body like a bullet firing without a gun. I, on the other hand, require some kind of support like the ground or a wall to kick off from in order to get the same speed and momentum to do the attack effectively.

As I thought, I have a long way to go until I reach Julius' level.

"Hah..."

Well, all the Dogoos getting in my way were defeated. I'll admit, I was sort of happy to have a little action from this mediocre delivery job.

It was a completely one-sided battle. Of course, that was expected. In this world, if you cannot beat a simple Dogoo, then you're either an infant who has yet to learn how to walk or a dead man walking in this world.

I put away my blades behind me while stretching my arms for a bit.

"That was a good warm-up..."

I turn around and casually walk to Rollo, who was still sitting like a good cat, next to the box.

"Let's go, Rollo. It'll be bad if we take too long at this."

"Meow..."

Rollo meows, raising his butt off the ground.

I bent down and picked up the box from the ground. It was then where I would hear a strange pair of voices from a distance.

"Aaaaahhh! Neptune! Please slow down! You're running too fast!"

"Nonsense, Nep Jr! Once this nose of mine smells pudding, everybody run for your lives! Nothing will stop me from meeting the source of this heavenly scent!"

Brr...I feel this strange chill in the air.

For some reason, I feel it coming closer towards me. My instincts were ringing dangerously.

I turn my head to the right and at the path ahead, I see...

...Two young girls dangerously charging towards me. The girl in front had an expression on her face that reminded me of a mad beast thirsting for fresh meat.

"Puuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuudiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggg!"

The girl jumped up and lunged at me with drool coming out of her mouth.

"Wah!"

I felt like a matador in a bullfight. My body moved on its own. I took a quick step to the side and held the box over my head to keep it safe.

The girl flew past me, with the side of her barely touching the edge of my shirt.

She then crashed, head-first. Her body digs through the ground until it came to a stop. She was like a meteor the way she flew across and yet her appearance reminds me of that bird who likes to stick its head into the ground.

That was too close. If I hadn't stepped to the side, I would've received one painful full body tackle from that girl.

Rather, why'd she even jump me like that in the first place? What did she say just then? Pudding?

And then it begs the question, what is it about me that gives the girl the misunderstanding that I was a tasty, light dessert?

Such a question, might be impossible to answer.

"N-Neptune, you can't just jump people without permission like that!"

The other girl, dressed in a white sailor uniform cries out to the girl in the ground.

Huh, so it was possible to get permission to attack others. Personally, I'd like to meet someone who would actually give permission to do that.

The girl that was running behind soon stopped close to me,

She had fair skin and long lilac-purple hair with darker coloured eyes.

Upon closer look, I realized she was really cute. And really young too. She wore what looked like a school uniform consisting of a white jacket-dress with purple lining consisting of thin double white stripes. A white choker, and around her neck is a pale yellow ribbon/ascot like piece with a N in the center. At her chest is a small pink marking while the pockets and buttons are purple. On her right leg is a white belt like purse object and she wears pink and white striped socks with white and purple shoes. In her hair she wears a single direction pad button.

Right now, she grasped at her knees, panting her breath. Raising her head up, she looks at me with a tired smile.

"I'm sorry for what happened just now. My sister wasn't trying to be rude or anything. She just tends to do things without really thinking things through."

...Isn't that worse than being simply 'rude'?

I look at the girl with a strange expression. After regaining herself, the girl stands up straight and smiles cheerfully at me.

"Umm, are you hurt or anything?"

I shake my head at her question.

"No, I'm fine...Rather, I don't think I'm the one you should be worrying about."

I pointed at the other girl who still had her head stuck in the ground. You would think there was some weird human-shaped clothed vegetable growing in a place like this.

A sight like that would certainly ruin the lives of a few gullible kids.

The girl then sprang up spontaneously, throwing dirt all over the place.

She shook her head violently, shaking out all the dirt still clinging to her hair.

Once that was done, she turned around and faced my direction. With a big grin on her face, she says,

"Woo! I'm 100% perfecto! Check it, I didn't even lose a single point of HP!"

It could just be the youthful energy she was giving off, but I got the impression she was younger than the girl next to me.

This loud girl is a fair skinned girl with light purple eyes and a matching shade of hair. It's shoulder length with somewhat messy bangs with many strands sticking up and few framing her face. She wears two gamepad-shaped hairclips. She wears a deep purple dress with lilac lining along the bottom, center, top, and pockets, along with white spiked edging at the hem. She wears a white, short-jacket over this with a big N button, purple plug-like strings, and purple lining and buckles on each shoulder sleeve. Her choker remains the same, along with her socks and shoes. On her wrist she has white bracelets with a soft spiked material and small powder blue spots in the center.

You could tell just from one look at these two that they have a striking resemblance to each other. No doubt they must be sisters...Or clones.

"Umm, Neptune. I think it's for the best if you apologize to this person. If he hadn't jumped out of the way, you could've seriously injured him."

The sailor uniform girl lightly scolds the bubbly girl.

The lively girl then looks at me, playfully sticking her tongue out while pressing her finger to her cheek.

"Right, sorry about that. I wasn't trying to attack you or anything and take all your money. It's just that once this nose of mine smells delicious pudding, my instincts sorta go wild."

...Is this girl an animal? Pudding normally doesn't have a strong odor to it. This girl must have an excellent nose.

Hmm, I do remember making pudding for dessert a few days ago. Is the scent still stuck on my hands after all that time?

There's no way...

"Umm, please excuse her. She really didn't mean any harm just now. She just really loves pudding. I hope you can forgive her."

The long-haired girl seems to modest and polite. She bows her head slightly at me in apology.

"It's fine. Rather I'm thankful none of my bones are broken yet."

The long-haired girl breathes out a sigh. She smiles with relief.

"Thank goodness. I was afraid you were gonna hold this against her. Please don't get the wrong idea. Neptune is a nice person."

"Neptune?"

The sound of that name rang bells in my head.

"Ah, right. I suppose we haven't introduced ourselves. I'm Nepgear and this is-"

Before this girl, Nepgear, could finish her sentence,

"Heeeeey, no fair, Nepgear! I'm the main heroine of this story so I need to be the first one the main character meets!"

The other girl clenched her little hands into tight fists while blathering nonsense that I'm not even gonna try to understand.

"Oh, I see. Sorry about that, Neptune."

Despite her apology, Nepgear says that while mentioning her name anyways.

...I should have said this earlier but this is a weird situation I'm finding myself in.

Then the other girl, whose name I already know, introduces herself to me.

"Hiya, I'm Neptune, the main heroine of this story! Feel free to call me Nep, Nep-Nep, Neppermint, Neptuna, whatever works for you! Pleasure to party up with you!"

[Neptune has joined the party without your consent!]

After Neptune gave me the weirdest introduction I've ever heard, Nepgear also bows her head towards me.

"W-Well, as I was saying, I'm Nepgear. It'll be a pleasure to work with you."

[Nepgear has also joined the party without your consent!]

"I see Neptune and Nepgear, huh? Pleasure to meet...Hmm?"

Somehow those names ringed a bell in my hand. Particularly Neptune's. I paused and thought about it for a moment and then,

"Ah, so you're Neptune, right?"

I exclaimed astonished as I look at the more energetic girl of the two.

While placing her finger on her cheek, she says,

"Yep, the one and only!...Well, unless you decided to name yourself Neptune as well."

She makes it sound like I just came out fresh from a Character Creation screen or something.

...I don't think anyone really has the kind of luxury to decide their own name at birth...

"Ah, no, my name is Ludger Kresnik. And this here's my cat, Rollo."

"Meow..."

Me and Rollo introduced ourselves. Nepgear then approaches Rollo and kneels down at him with a friendly smile.

"Aw, he's such a cute cat...And a fat one too."

"Meow!"

It was ambiguous to say whether Rollo reacted to her words with insult or pride.

I look back at Neptune and said,

"Anyways, I'm here because I have something I need to give to you."

I extend the box in my hands out to her. Neptune merely stares at the box with stars in her eyes.

"Ohhh, is this a present for me? We've only just met and you're already pulling out the gifts to raise my affection points! You work fast, Ludger!"

"Ha?"

What kind of misunderstanding is that!? How does that statement she said even makes sense in the first place?!

For starters, giving out gifts to girls you just meet is very creepy when you think about it. It's also very expensive too.

"No, it's nothing like that. I'm just here on a job from the Guild. I'm supposed to deliver this package to a Ms. Neptune who lives at the Planeptune Basillicom."

"Well, I am a Ms. Neptune who lives at the Planeptune Basillicom!...Wait, could it be?"

Neptune accepts the box from my hands. Holding it right in front of her, Neptune proceeds to...sniff the box.

This girl really is an animal...

"Hmm, I knew it...My nose never lies to me...My pudding has arrived!"

"Pudding!?"

Words cannot describe my shock.

What's a good metaphor for this? It's like an entire world has been dropped onto my head.

"Man, I've been waiting for this pudding to come ever since I made that request to the Guild and now it's finally here! Sweet!"

Don't use the Guild for something so trivial! Use a patisserie!

But wait a minute...No, it can't be...You're telling me the contents of the box was pudding!?

I was nothing more than a delivery boy, goaded by my brother's words!?

I didn't believe it. I didn't want to believe it.

Neptune flips open the lock and flips the lid open. At that moment, I felt a cold breeze of air hit me from the box.

I take a step forward. I gulped. A part of me starts to hope that there was a dangerous isotope in the box. Instead, I see...

"Ah yes! It's my pudding! Ohh, and it came in a six pack too! This day just gets better and better!"

While Neptune was smiling ear-to-ear, I had my jaw open so wide, you could fit a fist in my mouth.

I was tricked! Julius, you lied to me, damnit!

I see six custard puddings with a caramel topping sitting in small, chilled boxes within that larger steel box.

And it wasn't just any pudding either. It was the custard puddings I made the other day on Julius' request! At the time, I thought he just needed a break from tomatoes! Don't tell me this is why he wanted them!

Ludger Kresnik, you sir, are an idiot who let your own big brother deceive you!

Now I understand what the steel box and the fridge was for. It was to help maintain the pudding's cool temperature.

It also offered Julius the best excuse to trick me into believing this is some big, important mission.

The fate of Planeptune rests in my hands with this job!? Don't screw with me!

"Oh wow, this pudding looks really good! It doesn't look like something you can find in just some convenience store."

Nepgear peers into the box with glittering eyes.

Meanwhile, Neptune was already drooling out a waterfall.

"C'mon, let's take this back to the Basillicom so we can eat it! Actually, forget that! Let's just eat it here instead! We can use our hands instead!"

It seems 'table manners' is a foreign concept to this girl...

"We shouldn't do that, Neptune. I don't think it would be as enjoyable if we do it like that!"

Nepgear urged,

"Aw, but I want to eat to it now! Alright, fine, I suppose I'll wait a bit more. It'll only take a few seconds to move from here to the Basillicom anyways...Hmm, Ludger, what's wrong with you? You look like your cat died or something."

"Meow!"

Rollo shrieks with a panic, while I just stand there, completely shocked.

Pudding...There was pudding in that box that whole time. The package that I was prepared to protect with my life...only had pudding inside.

I was at a loss for words...

"What should we do, Neptune? Ludger looks really pale. Should we take him to a hospital?"

"Hmm, nah, he's probably fine. Instead, we should bring him back to the Basillicom and enjoy these puddings with us! We can have Compa look at him later!"

Nepgear claps her hands together with a delightful expression.

"Oh, that sounds like a wonderful idea! It's been a while since we had guests! I can prepare snacks for everyone!"

"Meow!"

Nepgear kneels down towards Rollo. The cat suddenly becomes alert at the mention of the word 'snacks'.

"Yes, of course, you can come too, Rollo."

Nepgear says with a friendly smile.

"Alright, it's settle! Off to the Basillicom!"

While declaring that with a boisterous tone, Neptune abruptly grabs my hand and starts pulling me towards a direction.

"Huh?! W-Wait! Hold on!"

I get dragged by Neptune, going who knows where while my feet barely kept up with her. Nepgear slowly follows behind along with Rollo as well.

To be honest, I could've broke free and ran if I wanted to.

But I was curious at what might happen if I continued to follow them.

I think it was at this point, that my life began to change in ways I never expected.

The future was unclear for me now. Even I had no way of predicting what might happen next.

My world was beginning to change.

The choices I make from here on will spin my future.

Will I be able to make the right choice, to create my perfect world?

**Skits:**

**The Story Begins**

Neptune: Hoo, this fanfiction is finally out! I thought it would never come out!

Ludger: I wonder if it's alright for someone like me to be the main character? I don't know. I feel like I don't deserve it.

Neptune: Oh, come on! What's with that attitude?! You gotta treat yourself to nice things once in a while! Especially after that trauma conga line you went through!

Ludger: Trauma...Conga line?

Neptune: Well yeah! I mean...You failed your entrance exam to become a Spirius Agent, got involved in a terrorist attack, got slapped with a 20 million gald debt, your brother was branded a terrorist by the media, forced to destroy worlds, most of them I might add are rather happy worlds if you think about it. Let's see, what else is there...You lost a friend, realized that you killed all your other friends in another timeline and then forced to kill yourself, who also happens to be the father of the little girl you were close to. Oh and did I forget to mention you killed him right in front of her? And that the power you were using was slowly hurting her? Oh and you were forced to kill your own brother when she was in danger, and in the end, you had to sacrifice yourself in order to save her and the world. And that's only one of your good ending routes. Ludger...your life sucks.

Ludger:...

Neptune: So yeah! Treat yourself to this! You and your brother deserve something better. Hopefully you'll earn a happier ending for yourself this time...Ludger? Hey, Ludger! Can you hear me?

Nepgear: I think your words broke his spirit, Neptune...

**Siblings**

Ludger: So Nepgear, you and Neptune are siblings, right?

Nepgear: Yes, Neptune is my older sister.

Ludger: Ah, I thought so, you two look similar so I thought...Huh!?

Nepgear: Wh-What is it!?

Ludger: You're telling me...Neptune is the older one out of the two of you?

Nepgear: Yep.

Ludger: But Neptune is so...childish, though.

Nepgear: Well, I suppose she could take her responsibilities a little more seriously. But don't get me wrong, there are times where Neptune can act like the cool big sister I always admire.

Ludger: I-I see...I hope I see it soon, or else it'll be traumatizing...


	2. Chapter 1: New Life, New Friends

Oh man, I can't believe it took me this long just to squeeze this chapter out! Yeah, sorry guys, things have been rather hectic for me lately, with my studies at university taking up most of my time. I was only able to make this using the spare time I can get between breaks but it's finally here: Chapter 2

Gonna keep this short before I get back to my studies but I hope you all enjoy.

Please leave a review after reading and tell me what you think. It'll be good to point out your thoughts now while this story is just starting out.

**Chapter 1: New Life, New Friends**

Now stop me if you heard this before.

You're just a normal guy living some form of normal life in the world.

The day starts out as nothing special and you'd expect it to end just like any other day.

Then, when you're out doing what you're supposed to do, you wind up meeting a girl and from then on, your life changes forever.

You wind up in a whole new world you'd never thought you'd be and before you knew it, you find yourself surrounded by all types of people with colorful personalities.

Now everyday is like an episodic adventure where you discover something new with each step.

And whether you want it or not, you find yourself surrounded by all these girls.

What's that? 90% of all anime/manga/visual novels start off with that kind of premise?

Indeed, it felt like it was the beginning of a very cliched story.

...Well, it could be worse. I could've wound up in the middle of a terrorist attack as an unfortunate bystander. Man, my luck would really be horrible if that really happened.

Anyways, Neptune brings me back to the Basillicom. I found myself standing in front of that large building at the center of Planeptune again.

However, this time...

"Ah, it's good to be home! And with delicious pudding in my hands, can this day get any better?"

Neptune's face was beaming and she carried the box full of pudding like it was a precious newborn baby.

It's good to see her so happy but...

"Neptune...Did you just say that this Basillicom was your house?"

I asked her. She puts her hands on her waist and showed me a big dumb grin.

"Yep, it's my home! My castle! My chez de Neptune!"

I don't think that last one is worded right. But wait, if she lives here then...

...My blood suddenly turns cold. My face starts to turn blue.

I've only known this girl for about 10 minutes and already, I had come to a horrifying conclusion.

"Umm, Neptune...You wouldn't happen to work for Planeptune's CPU by any chance, do you?"

I asked her timidly only to receive the worst answer I could've imagined.

"Hmm, nope. I am the CPU of Planeptune. It would be pretty weird to work for myself...I don't even do much work to begin with."

She says it so bluntly. Instantly, my mind rejected the thought.

"What!? YOU are the CPU of Planeptune?!"

I was shocked. Almost betrayed even.

The image I have about Lady Purple Heart is that she was confident, mature, and prideful. Perhaps she was a bit over-confident, but her serious and level-headed demeanor always gave me the strong impression that she was a true leader and voice of reason for her country.

To think that Purple Heart...is actually an idiot like Neptune.

No, Purple Heart IS the idiot Neptune.

Of course, I can't believe it.

Neptune looks at my confused expression with a confused look of her own.

"Well, yeah. Wait, you didn't know? This is a Hyperdimension Neptunia fanfiction and the first girl you meet happens to be me so it never occurred to you that I, Neptune, the main heroine am the CPU of Planeptune? I mean, it's pretty obvious isn't it? Most people who play the first game of the series could normally tie it all together in the first 5 minutes. Heck, even the readers here know that even before they opened this fanfiction. Neptune, Planeptune, do you see the similarities?"

I had no idea what she was saying but I was starting to feel like an idiot.

Being treated as an idiot by Neptune...It left me with a complicated feeling.

"B-But wait a minute! Compared to the Purple Heart that I see on TV and the one here...Aren't their appearances too different?"

"Sheesh, you're a bigger noob to this than I thought if you didn't know that I could use HDD either."

"HDD?"

I was confused by the new term that reached into my ears. The one to answer my confusion is Nepgear,

"HDD, or Hard Drive Divinity, is an ability used by the CPU's of Gamindustri which allows them to transform and access their full power. There are some notable differences between the CPUs and their human forms. Aside from the physical change, The CPU's can adopt a change in personality as well. Here, this is Neptune in her human form."

So she says. Based on her words, I then deduced that the Neptune before me was her human form and that means the one I've seen before, her Purple Heart persona must be her form as a CPU.

It all starts to make sense to me now...Although when I compare Neptune to Purple Heart, to call it a change in personality would be an understatement.

Rather, are they even the same person...?

"Hey, you don't believe it, do you!?"

Neptune puffs her cheeks while glaring at me. Crap, she saw right through me, huh?

"Well, it's something that's hard to believe, that's all..."

"Hmph fine! Then I'll just show you!"

Neptune's clenched her hands into little fists in front of her.

Neptune then does this weird pose, intent of a transformation. It was like something you would see magical girls do in front of a bunch of people, no matter how stupid it may look. It'd be embarrassing if nothing happened but at this moment, something did happen.

Her body lights up as a circle of binary code floats up around her along with thin streams of light. They were glowing green sequences of 1's and 0's, alternating between each other in a circle at a constantly growing rate and when that speed of sequences reached its pinnacle, a bright light flashed before my eyes. Rather than blinding me, it felt like I was being bathed entirely by that bright light.

When that light finally fades down and I was able to bring myself to open my eyes, Neptune's image was replaced with someone familiar.

"Wha...?"

I was shocked beyond what words could describe.

If this was Neptune then she had one hell of a makeover. Her hair becomes a dark lilac-purple while her eyes turn blue. Her hair becomes very long and is worn in twintail braids while her bangs and the hair that frame her face are somewhat longer. Her hairclips turn into small black circular pieces with glowing blue x's on them. Her suit resembles a black skin suit with purple segments and blue pieces along it. The boots/leg armor is above the knee.

It sports no blocky patches and more pronounced purple and blue lines with a patch of purple material going from just below her breasts to just below her navel. The gamepad marks are move from the shoulders to the sides of her hips. She also has two black and purple wristcuffs and stockings and boots. Neptune also gets an increase in bust size or bust emphasis.

This is the image of Purple Heart I'm all too familiar with.

"Y-You were telling the truth! You really are the CPU of Planeptune, Neptune!"

"I understand that this kind of Forced Tutorial situation is kind of a staple for the Hyperdimension Neptunia series, but can we get on with this before the readers start getting bored?"

Now with a deeper, more mature voice, the transformed Neptune lets out a heavy sigh.

**Part 2**

To say I lived under a cave my whole life...wouldn't be that far from the truth.

After all, far as long as I can remember, there's only been me and Julius.

I didn't really know my parents. I reasoned they must've died when I was just a little boy.

Even if I try to remember their faces, I wouldn't see anything.

For as long as I can remember, it's always been Julius taking care of me.

It was only the two of us. Naturally, Julius took up a lot of work to support us. He did that while still staying at the top of his class.

I had to pull my weight as well. Julius wasn't very good at housework so naturally, I filled in the position of doing all the house chores.

Between balancing between school and housework, I had little free time to slack off.

So I mostly spent most of my time up until now either at school or at home. So that meant I never stepped out of Planeptune much nor did I really get much of a chance to get involved with society.

It would only be natural then that I would be clueless to the CPU's true personality outside of their appearances in publicized events.

I've only thought Purple Heart, the CPU of Planeptune was only that one person I saw.

Now I understand that everyone has two sides to themselves: the person they are in public and the person they are in private.

However, this...goes far beyond anything that I expected.

The HDD that Nepgear told me about which was a whole new transformation that Neptune and all CPUs possess was still a hard pill for me to swallow.

To be honest, I've never imagined up until now that I would actually meet Planeptune's CPU so suddenly like this.

And what a horrible meeting it was...

Now that I've met her and learned what she's really like, a question appeared in my mind.

...Are we going to be alright with her as our CPU?

I kept those doubts in my mind as I follow Neptune into the Basillicom.

Neptune swings the doors open and while me, Nepgear and Rollo trailed behind her, Neptune spontaneously yells into the air.

"Honey! I'm hooooome!"

Her vibrant voice echoes through the building.

I lean towards Nepgear and whispers,

"Is Neptune married?"

"Not that I'm aware of, no..."

Nepgear says with a meek smile. Why does she look so unsure?

Either Neptune was being random or there is someone in this place named 'Honey'.

"Well, well, if it isn't Neptune. It's about time you showed up."

A female voice. One with a lot of sass to its tone.

I turn my head towards the direction the voice came from.

Not surprisingly, I see another unfamiliar face.

A pale-fair skinned girl with long black hair about waist length, worn up in long pigtails with two-piece black and blue ribbons. Her bangs are neatly combed, framing her face and she has very noticeable red eyes. She wears a fancy dress consisting of dark blue, white, red, and small amounts of gold lining and buttons. The dress part covers a red with black spiked lining cloth while the breast part is white, along with the skirt which has black lining on both layers. Behind this is a blue bow, matching a smaller one worn around her neck attached to a black and white collar. In the center is a gold piece.

My first impression of her was that I thought she was beautiful but at the same time, the kind of person who's hard to approach.

Unlike the bubbly Neptune, this girl looked like the type who takes things too seriously.

Despite that contrast, Neptune seems to have no problem with breaking that invisible barrier and approaching that girl with the same carefree demeanor.

"Oh, heya Noire! What's up? What brings you all the way here? Were you lonely without any friends to talk to so you came all the way here to play with us?"

...I sensed no sarcasm in Neptune's tone. But what she said was clearly rude.

Perhaps because they seem like good friends that she was joking around.

That being said, the black-haired girl seems to take her words with clear offense.

Her face heats up furiously as she glares at Neptune with angry eyes.

"O-Of course not! I-I totally have...at least...one friend to talk to...I think...Wait! What are you making me say!? I didn't come here to goof off with you or anything!"

She screams it out furiously...I'm having a hard time understanding how this girl's mind works.

Neptune places her finger on her cheek and curiously asks,

"Oh really? Then what are you doing here?"

After calming down a little, the black-haired girl answers,

"Well if you must know, Histoire called me here because she wanted to talk to me about something, that's all...Hmm? Who is this?"

It was then that this girl noticed me standing a bit far back behind Neptune.

"M-Me?"

Nervously, I point my finger at myself while slightly startled.

Soon enough, everyone's gazes were on me.

All this attention was making me uncomfortable.

A part of me hoped that there was someone standing behind me at the moment.

"Are you...talking about me?"

I asked. The black-haired girl gaped at me with half-opened eyes.

"Well yeah, who else could I be talking to? The cat?"

"Meow!"

Rollo meowed right next to me.

It only took until now that I realized I had just asked an unbelievably stupid question.

If she knows Neptune, then she would definitely know Nepgear.

From her perspective, I'm the only stranger here.

"Um, I'm Ludger. Ludger Kresnik."

"Meow!"

"Oh right, and this here's Rollo. My cat."

I bend down to pick up Rollo...Whoa, Julius was right about the diet Kitty Krisps.

While carrying Rollo from under his arms, I present the cat towards the girl.

The girl takes a step forward passed Neptune and Nepgear. Her gaze was focused straight on Rollo.

Putting her hands on her hips, the girl leans forward, until she and Rollo were face-to-face

"Hmm..."

"Meow...?"

Rollo tilts his head in confusion.

The way the girl was intently staring at him reminds me of the shrewd look of a judge sizing him up in a pet competition.

...Well, either that or the shrewd gaze of a chef sizing up their ingredients before throwing them into a pot.

The girl whispers something in a low voice,

"What a chubby-looking cat..."

...She's...not planning to eat him, is she?

Then the girl's face turns red as her eyes suddenly looked dazed.

"C-Can I touch his paw pads?"

"Huh?"

"Meow?"

Me and Rollo share a look of confusion.

Like she had suddenly woken up and returned to reality, the girl's eyes snapped wide open. With furiously blushing cheeks, the girl stands back up straight with her posture now even tighter than before.

"I-I mean, what a fat cat! Seriously, what are you feeding this poor guy! Wouldn't it kill you to take him out for some exercise! I mean, look at that round belly!...That round, soft, squishy belly...I mean, put the cat on a diet already!"

It feels like she was just throwing out words to cover up her embarrassment.

Honestly, I never saw anything wrong about having the temptation to feel an animal's paw pads.

I should know, I get that temptation sometimes myself.

Rather, I don't really get why she's getting so worked up over something so trivial.

I exchange glances with Rollo, who is still held up in my hands.

She's a strange one, isn't she?

The girl *ahem* clears her throat by letting out a fake cough while holding a fist before her mouth.

Putting that whole moment behind us, she regains her composure and gives me a firm look.

"A-Anyways, my name is Noire! I'm the CPU of Lastation! You should feel honored!"

The girl introduces herself as Noire. More importantly...

...CPU of Lastation!?

I was shocked speechless. It came as less of a shock when I met Neptune, but it was still plenty surprising.

I didn't think I would meet the CPU of Planeptune AND Lastation all in one day.

If it weren't for Neptune's introduction before, I probably wouldn't have believed it.

However, I admit this girl, Noire, does exert more of a goddess-like aura than Neptune.

...Even if she does have her quirks.

It was then while making introductions that we all heard two new voices murmuring nearby.

"...What's with all the noise...?"

"My, my, has Nepgear returned yet?"

From the entrance of a nearby hallway, two new people come out.

While their colors completely contrast that of Noire and Neptune, I sensed the same form of elegance I get from them.

The first is a short pale skinned girl. She has short sandy-brown colored hair reaching her neck and dull blue eyes. On the top of her head, she wears a big white cap with light blue ruffles and a brown and gold under and center piece. She is wearing a opened white jacket with powder blue markings, dark brown lining, and light colored brown fur. Around her neck is a light blue choker with a single white stripe in the middle and blue gem/badge in the center. She also wears power blue sandals with a white ribbon around in her right leg resembling a bandage.

The girl wore a stoic, quiet expression. It gave me the impression of a doll.

And it's worth noting that she looked flat as a board. It's probably for the best that I keep that to myself though.

The other one next to her seems to be like her complete opposite.

She seems to be the most mature out of all of them, possessing a more curvy and bustier body than the other girls I met so far.

She has long curled light blond hair with long bangs neatly framing her face. She has sad blue looking eyes, not fully open. She wears an emerald green dress with gold markings. Big/loose light green and white gloves and along the top part of her skirt is a big peach/orange bow. Around her neck she wears a big piece of white collar with green lining around the bottom and a very thin white cloth connecting the dress and neck piece together. At the center is a gold circular piece with a small blue gem in the center and tiny red ribbon with gold in the center.

"Wowza, both Blanc AND Vert are here too!? What's the occasion? Is it my birthday?"

Neptune says, spouting that random comment at the end.

The short one answered first,

"Ram and Rom were being noisy...so I came here to get away from them."

"I had some free time so I thought I'd come down to see my darling little sister, Nepgear."

The taller one explained. With that, a question formed into my head.

I leaned towards Nepgear and whispered,

"I didn't know you had another sister..."

"That's not...exactly right..."

Nepgear says with a sheepish smile.

"Oh? It seems I have found Nepgear but who is this new face among us?"

Urk, it seems the blonde haired one clad in green had taken notice of me. The short one dressed in white also takes notice of me and murmurs,

"It's a guy..."

"*gasp*, you're right, he is!"

Neptune is genuinely astonished...Wait, what!? She's actually surprised by that!?

I genuinely hope that Neptune was speaking with a word form of sarcasm but...

It seems the male gender of the human race is a foreign species to these people...

"Umm, I'm Ludger. Ludger Kresnik. And this is my cat, Rollo."

"Meow!"

I show everyone the fat cat in my hands.

"He's also the main character/narrator of this fanfiction, so be nice to him, okay?"

Neptune adds...for some reason.

"Ludger, huh? Well then, my name is Vert. I am the CPU of Leanbox. It's a pleasure to meet you."

""...I'm Blanc. CPU of Lowee. Nice to meet you..."

Vert makes a proper introduction while Blanc was quick and to the point.

The CPUs of Leanbox and Lowee, huh? Unbelievable. I met all four CPUs of Gamindustri in one day.

Only the main characters of anime and manga would have the kind of insane luck to meet all these kinds of important people all at once.

It felt like I was dropped into this situation without warning and because of that, I didn't know how to respond to this.

Neptune, Noire, Blanc and Vert...

The four CPUs that govern Gamindustri were all around me.

"Alright! Now that we're all friends, let's feast on these puddings in celebration in meeting our new pal, Ludger!"

Neptune exclaims, holding the box of pudding over her head like it was buried treasure.

...I don't think a celebration over a trivial reason is necessary. Rather, I think Neptune's just inventing excuses not to do work.

"Neptune!"

Just then, a voice-an angry voice- cuts through the air.

"Yikes!"

Neptune's entire body freezes up and her face suddenly looks tense.

It was then another girl -a REALLY small girl- who was sitting atop an open book was slowly hovering towards us, her angered eyes fixated solely on Neptune.

And when I say small, I mean small enough to fit in my hand.

She uh, 'stands' at about...13...no 15 centimeters. Yes, centimeters. I had to measure her height in centimeters. She really reminds me of a fairy. She had long, light blonde hair worn in curled pigtail, curled bangs, along with curled bangs reaching her chest. Her eyes were blue and she had fair-tan kin. There were purple and blue, butterfly like wings extending from her back while her white hat had what looked like blue headphone pieces over her eye. She had a small green tie and a purple dress.

And she was tiny like a fairy. Like a fairy companion that would travel alongside you on a journey to save the world, all the while shouting in your ear constantly about useless tidbits that you could do just fine without...

...But no seriously, she is small. You could show her to a child and they would probably confuse her with some revolutionary, interactive toy. If toys like that would actually exist, parents would certainly freak out.

She sits upon a book, which happens to be floating in the air...Her appearance surprises me even more than the CPUs do.

Just what on earth...?

The small girl sitting atop that open book hovers straight to Neptune, ignoring the rest of us.

She didn't look happy. In fact, she looked pissed.

"Neptune! Where have you been!? I hope you've been doing your work and collecting shares for Planeptune like you were supposed to!"

Neptune's finger was on her cheek as her eyes became wide with realization.

"Oh yeah, right...Well, here's the thing. Me and Nep Jr. were out trying to do our work annnnnd...it just so happened that there was this 2 for 1 promotion going on at a nearby ice cream shop so we decided to take a break there and...after that, we didn't feel like working anymore."

Neptune explains...I'm sorry but that is a horrible explanation. Even by children standards, that's a terrible excuse.

...Wait if that's what happened, how exactly did they end up in Virtua Forest?

Rather, how long was their break!?

"I see...Don't tell me that's all that happened..."

The fairy-like girl expresses it calmly...but you can see the large vein throbbing at the side of her head.

While tapping her cheek with her finger, Neptune murmurs...

"Umm...Ah, oh yeah! We also met a new friend today! You know, while I was out being awesome and everything! His name is Ludger! Say hi, Ludger!"

Neptune suddenly turns her attention on to me...Is she trying to change the subject?

Either way, the young fairy-like girl turns her entire body at my direction. With that, the anger in her eyes completely vanished for a moment as she looks at me with a pleasant expression.

"Oh? So you're one of Neptune's new friends?"

She asks me. I thought about it for a moment and then answered,

"Umm, I suppose. Honestly, I only just started working for the Guild and it just so happened that Neptune is my client. I'm not sure if that makes us friends yet."

I said that hesitantly. Like that, Neptune looks at me with an 'angry' expression in her eyes.

"What are you talking about? Of course, we're friends. Anybody who gives me pudding, even if on the job, will always be a friend of mine!"

Neptune says proudly...It seems her standards on friendship are even lower than I expected.

The small fairy-like girl nods her head understandingly,

"I see. So basically, you also happen to run into Neptune by chance and because of her shenanigans, were brought back here by that girl's whims, bringing you here now. I'll assume your first meeting with her wasn't exactly normal either."

...She understands this so well. Has this kind of thing happened before?

"Y-Yeah, you're right."

I merely nod my head, both amazed and surprised at how accurately she puts it.

The girl lets out a heavy sigh and laments,

"Honestly, this thing always happens when Neptune is involved. Oh, where are my manners..."

The small girl looks at me and politely says,

"My name is Histoire. I'm Planeptune's Oracle. It's a pleasure to meet you."

I hear an unfamiliar word, and tilt my head to the side in confusion.

"Oracle?"

Nepgear was the one to answer my question.

"You can say she's our Basillicom's boss. She helps us handle our workload."

Ah, now it starts to make sense. I nod my head once to Nepgear, telling her that.

I look back to Histoire and said,

"I'm Ludger Kresnik. I'm a member of the Guild...Or rather, I just joined the Guild so I'm still new to this."

Wearing a pleasant smile, Histoire politely bows her head towards me.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ludger. I apologize for any trouble that Neptune may have caused you. I do hope you can forgive her for anything she may have did."

"N-No, not at all!"

My body automatically bends forward to return Histoire's bow.

What is this...The sudden polite formal introduction exchanged...My body just moved on its own.

Well, actually, considering all the horrible introductions before, I was surprised to get such a normal one out of the blue.

"Heeeeey! What is that!? Why am I made to look like the bad guy in all this!? I'm supposed to be the main heroine here!"

Neptune was pouty. She even puffs her cheeks.

"I mean, we wouldn't be able to start up this fanfiction if we hadn't met in the first chapter!"

She kept complaining. It seems every word she spoke only fed Histoire's quiet anger slowly bubbling on her face.

"That aside...Neptune, is it correct to assume that the circumstances in which you met was only because he was made to deliver that box full of pudding that is in your hands?"

Histoire refers to that cool box of pudding that was currently cradled in Neptune's hands. Just like that, her expression drops and her mouth was left wide open.

"Uhh..."

"I told you again and again not to use the Guild to run your silly errands, didn't I!? For requests like this, either make it yourself or go to a patisserie!"

That's what I thought...

Neptune starts sweating at the side of her cheek.

"Wh-What? Histy...are...are you like, upset? For realsies?"

It took her that long to realize that?

Histoire lets out a heavy, upset sigh.

"There should be a limit to your laziness. You're a CPU!"

Histoire looks to me and bows her head apologetically,

"My apologies Ludger for having to see such unsightly display from your CPU. While I would like to get more acquainted, it seems I need to pound into Neptune's thick skull just what exactly it means to be a CPU!"

"I see. Go for it."

I instantly supported Histoire's words. Just then, Neptune's mouth gaped wide open.

"Buh-whaaa!? H-Hang on a sec! Ludger, you're the main character here! It's your job to save me, the main heroine, from stuff like this!"

Neptune cries out at me...Sorry, Neptune but I'm with Histoire on this one.

After all, I'm a citizen of Planeptune myself. I won't be able to sleep knowing that the leader of my country is so damn lazy that she makes the Guild fulfill such trivial requests.

"That's enough, Neptune! Sit! Tuck those feet under your legs - seiza style, missy!"

Seiza style, huh? Man, that form of sitting hurts after a while if you're not used to it and it really cuts the circulation to the legs.

And since I never pictured Neptune to be the type to be so formal, this is going to hurt.

"Whaaaaat?"

Neptune complains loudly but Histoire didn't listen.

"Pipe down and listen to me! I shall now begin my lecture. The primary duty of any CPU is..."

While Neptune was suffering from the way she was sitting, Histoire kept lecturing her.

Naturally, we all took a step back and left a bit of distance from them so that Histoire can continue her lecture uninterrupted.

Nepgear's profile had a meek smile. Her hands carried the box of pudding that was left behind by Neptune when Histoire pulled her away.

"Umm, Histoire's lectures usually last for quite some time. Shall we all head to the next room so we can enjoy some tea and snacks?"

Everyone from me, Noire, Blanc and Vert all nod their heads in agreement.

"Yeah. Sounds good."

"Well, if you insist, I don't mind taking a bit of a breather."

"...Okay."

"Would you like to play a game with me, Nepgear? You can join too, Ludger."

"Meow!"

Oh right, Rollo is here as well.

We all retreat to the next room over to enjoy some tea, snacks and of course, games.

Histoire's lectures indeed took a while. We can hear her voice over from the next room.

During that time Histoire was lecturing and Neptune was groaning, I engaged in casual conversation with Nepgear and the others.

Nepgear left the puddings in the fridge, most likely waiting for Neptune to come back so that they could enjoy it together.

During that time I interacted with everyone, I developed a basic understanding of everyone's personalities.

It was easy though since everyone's personality seems to stand out significantly.

When meeting new people, a good way to remember them is to either get their contact information or find this one distinguishing trait about them that separates them from everyone else, whether it's physical or personality-based.

Summing it up with only a few words for each person would make it even easier to remember. I guess you could say, giving everyone a title helps describe them.

For example, Noire would be Tsundere. Evidence: She keeps occasionally shifting her glance at Rollo and I can tell that she at least wanted to play with his paw pads. She had that look in her eyes...

Nepgear would be the 'Little Sister'. She has all the traits that make up the ideal little sister, with her dependability being a bonus.

I'd use 'a doll' to describe Blanc. She's so...quiet.

Vert would be the Big Sister (Wannabe). You could tell just from her interactions with Nepgear.

I suppose Histoire would be something like a 'Fairy Companion'.

Finally, Neptune would be 'Idiot'.

**Part 3**

They say you don't become a master of anything overnight.

Even the talented require some practice before they can master it.

That could be said for cooking.

You start off at the beginning, by reading a recipe and following the steps. Small recipe's like cookies are a good way to start then you start building your foundation and cooking techniques with more and more complicated recipe's.

With enough experience and a trained palate, you could then start branching off to build your own recipe's. Normally, it'd be a hit-and-miss but with a good sense of taste and more importantly, common sense towards your ingredients, you'll end up creating delicious food in no time.

Sometimes, people would just skip the step of following a recipe and jump straight to experimenting with their ingredients...Yeah, don't do that.

All you will get from that is some kind of Mystery Food X that shouldn't even be called food in the first place.

Julius often sing praises about my cooking but it did not start like that at the beginning.

The first time I cooked was when I was 7. I noticed that my brother had been getting thinner lately because of his work.

I was a little worried so I decided to cook for him one day because I was concerned about his health.

The dish was a tomato pasta and I had to say...It was a disaster.

I had a recipe in hand and had all the ingredients before me...In the end, I was able to create an edible dish however, the kitchen was in such a mess, you'd think a tornado ran through the place.

My hands were also covered in bandages too. There were so many cuts that you'd thought I got into a fight with some bully.

It was a lot of work...but when Julius sat down and ate it, and when I saw how happy he was, I felt really happy myself.

How should I put this? When your efforts were able to put a smile on someone's face, you can't help but feel like smiling yourself.

I suppose that's what got me into cooking. Seeing happy smiles of people enjoying the food I make.

Which reminds me, that pudding that I gave Neptune...I wonder what she would say once she tastes it?

"Geh. My legs are all tingly and snoring. Can somebody spare me some Paralaxin...?"

Neptune was groaning while her hands were massaging her thighs.

...Histoire had been lecturing for an hour. Well, I suppose sitting in seiza for that long will do that to you.

Right now, I was in Neptune's room just like everyone else.

It was a room I'd expect to find from a girl her age. A pair of bunk beds, bright colors and a game console connected to a large television set.

I spent most of the time sitting back, drinking tea while the other's played games. But honestly, who really cares about that right now?

Right now, Neptune was sitting on a chair at the table in the middle of the room. Nepgear had to drag her here.

Around the table were Noire, Vert and Blanc as well. Nepgear went to the kitchen to grab something.

Histoire was hovering before all of us at the center of the table, glaring at Neptune with a stern look.

"And just how long do you intend to sit there like flies on the wall?"

...Would flies on the wall even count as sitting?

I thought about that for a moment before soon deciding to give up on the thought.

"Histy, your stories last longer than my whole life. My cute thighs are all jello-y now."

"Did you learn nothing from my lecture about how a CPU ought to behave and speak? I'll assume you have taken a hard look at yourself and now understand how serious it is, yes?"

Neptune wears a guilt-free smile.

"Well, honestly, I kinda drifted off somewhere around the CPU part..."

Neptune...There is such a thing as being TOO honest.

"Unbelievable..."

Histoire scowls. She reminds me of a mother trying to scold a problem child...

"C'mon, Histy. Aren't you being like, a little too uptight? I mean, seriously, just chill out already. It's not like it's the end of the world or anything. Right, Ludger? Don't you think Histy is being too much of a evil step-mom, right now?"

Neptune looks at me, as if she was searching for an ally for her cause.

...Don't look this way.

"I'm not a CPU so I wouldn't really understand the situation."

Histoire nods her head,

"Naturally. The responsibilities of a CPU isn't something most people would understand. I suppose that would apply to Neptune as well, unfortunately."

"Boo~"

Neptune pouts her lips while rolling her head on the surface of the table.

"Ludger, you were supposed to say something like 'I agree with Neptune' or something like that. Honestly, you're never gonna win any affection points from me if you keep that up."

...It's not my intention to win your affections anyways.

"Hmph. Well, I suppose something like that is for the best. I can't imagine any romantic relationship with you can possibly be healthy, Neptune."

Noire makes the comment with a cunning smirk.

Vert then adds while crossing her arms under breasts,

"Indeed. I shudder at what might happen to poor Ludger if he were to go down your story route."

"...A waste of storytelling..."

Blanc makes that ambiguous comment at the end.

Neptune's eyes gaped wide open like a pair of white saucers as she raises her head at the other three CPU's.

"Hey! What's with this bullying? I didn't sign up for this! *gasp* Is this because I'm the main heroine!?"

...I've been thinking this for a while but why does Neptune keep referring to herself as the main heroine? Does that even mean anything?

Once again, I thought about it for a bit but then I soon gave up when it became too troublesome.

Before the conversation could keep going in all sorts of weird directions, Nepgear enters the room with a smile, carrying a tray with 6 custard puddings sitting on top of small plates.

"Sorry for the wait, everyone!"

"! I smell pudding!"

Like an animal that just caught scent of her prey, Neptune's face lights up with a twitch of her nose.

Nepgear walks around the table, placing a dish before each of us.

"It took me a while to transfer them onto plates. I didn't want to ruin the presentation."

A pudding goes to Noire, and then Blanc, and then Vert. Another pudding gets placed in front of an empty seat, where I'll assume Nepgear would be sitting.

Finally, Neptune...

"Oh, sweet! I've been waiting for this all day! To be reunited with my one true love: Pudding!"

It was as if all of Neptune's fatigue was washed away simply from the mere sight of the custard pudding sitting in front of her.

I understand that people are entitled to their favourite foods.

However, when I look at Neptune, the shine in her eyes make it look like her entire reason for existence is pudding.

As soon as Nepgear sits down on the last seat, everyone around me picked up their spoons. They each aimed at their own puddings in front of them.

Naturally, Neptune went in first...

"Down the hatch!"

She plunges her spoon in, taking a bit of pudding and caramel from the top and slips it into her mouth.

Her expression from then on was of total bliss.

"DE-LICIOUS! It's Neptune Delicious! It's..It's...Nep-licious!"

Nep-licious? That's new.

Neptune keeps squealing while holding her hand to her cheek in absolute elight. Her expression looked heavenly.

I'll go under the assumption that she liked it...Somehow, that makes me happy.

"I've had this dessert many times before but this one stands head and shoulders above anything I've had so far."

Vert makes that comment after a single spoonful of pudding. She wore an approving smile.

"There doesn't seem to be anything added in here. And yet, the custard feels so rich and it melts in your mouth."

Nepgear added, her spoon tapping against the caramel top of her pudding. It feels...kinda embarrassing actually to hear this much praise.

"NomNomNomNom..."

Blanc was just quietly eating the pudding without saying anything else.

"This is pretty good. For pudding anyways."

Noire makes that critique while lightly shrugging her shoulders. I'm guessing she approves of it...I think?

"It's Nep-tastic! The stuff from convenience stores can't even compare to this! Hmm? Ludger, aren't you going to have any?"

Neptune looks at me and noticed I have yet to pick up my spoon.

"No, I'm fine. I really don't feel like having any pudding now anyways. If you want, you can have it, Histoire."

I gently push the edge of my plate and offer the pudding to Histoire, whose face shows a pleasant surprise.

"Oh, are you sure?"

"It's fine. I can make this pudding myself anytime I want to so I wouldn't be missing out on much."

At that moment...

Clank.

I hear the light tapping sound of metal against porcelain.

I see Neptune's entire body frozen. The spoon she held seems to have slipped out of her hand and the tip now sat at the edge of the plate narrowly.

While looking at me, Neptune's eyes were like a pair of wide circles.

"No way...You MADE this heavenly pudding!? And here I thought you bought it from a classy shop or something!"

"Do I look like the kind of person who can afford such things?"

I asked and Neptune simply answers,

"I guess not."

She seems to agree...Although it still irks me to see her agree so easily.

Vert also looks at me strangely, crossing her arms under her breasts while shrugging her shoulders,

"It is surprising to know that you had such a skill. I always got the impression that you were among the blank-slate, silent protagonist type. I didn't think you had the 'Supreme Chef' trait."

...Is that how she sees me?

"...It's a common stereotype for the main character in these types of stories to be at most mediocre at cooking."

Blanc finally speaks, only to make that weird comment.

"Darn, tootin'! I mean, how exactly are we heroines supposed to do the 'Make the Boxed Lunch out of Love' event knowing THIS is what we're competing against!? You're not playing fair, Ludger! You're making our jobs too hard!"

Neptune complains to me. I'm not really sure what my cooking level has to do with their 'job' exactly.

Should I apologize for knowing how to cook? Then again, that makes no sense in the first place.

"And here I thought I was a really good cook. Now that I've tasted this, I don't know anymore."

Nepgear's confidence looked like it was dropping by the second as she sulks in her chair.

Oh boy, this better not give birthed to some really weird rivalry between us.

Noire looks at everyone with a dull expression in her eyes.

"Aren't you all just overreacting? I mean, it's just pudding. One of the most basic recipe's you'll ever find in a cookbook."

She mentions to everyone.

She's right, of course. Pudding is a really simple dessert. Hardly takes anytime at all.

But Neptune argues,

"JUST pudding?! Clearly Noire, if you ever eaten 10 convenience store brand puddings every day, you can easily tell in a single bite that Ludger's pudding is no ordinary pudding..."

The tone she spoke with certainly sounded cool, but the source of her confidence is just weird. Also, change your diet. 20 convenience store puddings a day aren't healthy...

"Behold! The custard is so rich and moist, it practically melts in your mouth and explodes with flavor in your mouth! It's creamy yet unexpectedly firm around the caramel top. The caramel itself is not too sweet as well! In fact, it has this slight bitter aftertaste that leaves a lasting impression on your taste buds that will never cease. Truly, this pudding is none other. This here is the King of Puddings!"

King of Puddings? That's exaggerating a bit. More importantly, what the hell's gotten over Neptune?

She always seemed so air-headed before; when did she turn into a giant ham?

At that point, I made it a mental note never to get between Neptune and pudding.

"..."

Everyone was struck silent by Neptune's idiotic speech. Naturally, everyone must've had the same thought.

Just by arguing back at her, you're already degrading yourself down to the same mental age as Neptune because you acknowledged her argument.

So nobody spoke a word back.

Instead, Noire shoots me a look from her eyes and said,

"You started it. Now finish it."

You're asking for the impossible...

**Part 4**

There is such a thing as working too hard.

Those who constantly work themselves without taking sufficient breaks will either start hating life or just lose their minds.

As such, it's perfectly natural to do idle things like watch TV and play video games in order to lower stress and get their minds off the complications of daily life.

However...

"Haha! Taste my Special! And you're out of here, Nepgear!"

"Uwah, that's terrible, Neptune! How could you!"

"My bad little sister, but in this game, it's every girl for herself!"

"Fret not, Nepgear. I shall gladly take vengeance on your behalf."

"..."

...There is also such a thing as slacking off too hard.

At the moment, Neptune, Nepgear, Vert and Blanc were sitting in front of the TV, playing a four player fighting game.

The goal of the game was simple: merely smash your opponent off the screen.

There are bunch of other rules you could make to adjust your game like time limits etc... but I don't feel like explaining it.

It's a game that originated from Lowee and has long since remain a classic played by many. It is particularly enjoyable when it's played among friends.

I sat at my chair just a few metres behind them and the thoughts 'these are the CPUs we all worshipped' kept going through my mind.

Watching those girls, it made me really worry about this world's future. I mean, can we really entrust our society to such lazy people?

I began to wonder about that but considering that they've been our CPUs for a while, I'm assuming they must've done something right.

The reason I wasn't playing with them was because it was a four player game and since I just met everyone, I didn't really want to get in their way.

Plus, if I did played, I'd most likely lose when up against Neptune or Vert.

So here I am, just sitting around doing nothing in particular. Technically, I completed my job so I could leave anytime.

However, every time I tried, Neptune would say something like 'What, you're leaving? But we have so many games left to play' while giving me a puppy dog look.

Once she gave me that face it became hard to disappoint here and I wound up sitting my butt back on my chair.

It seems I can't leave until that girl tires herself out...It looks like I'll be here a while.

Well, it's not like I'm in a real emergency to leave now anyways.

Even if I come back, I wouldn't have much to do since I've only last cleaned the apartment a few days ago and it won't take me long to prepare dinner.

Julius won't be back for a while so I might as well stay for a bit to kill time.

"...Zzzz...Meooooow..."

Rollo was lightly snoring while peacefully napping on top of the table I was sitting at.

The quiet, fat cat was making light purring noises. A small snot bubble was blowing up out of his nose and its size changes in rhythm with his breathing.

Also,

"..."

Sitting across me on the other side of the round table was Noire, who had her eyes unusually fixated on Rollo for some time.

You could see the inner turmoil in her eyes as her face was tight upon watching Rollo sleep.

All she's been doing was watching him every chance she gets while making no attempts to do anything else. Even though, it was clear that she wanted to play with the cat. Things like touch his paw pads, rub his belly or run your fingers under his chin. Things that are hard to resist if you're an animal person.

This sort of conflict is painful to watch. Like you have the desire but not the will to carry it out.

Just scratch behinds his ears already, damnit! I won't think less of you if that's your concern! Rather, your concern towards your own self-image is rather disturbing...

Realizing that nothing will progress at this rate, I opened my mouth and offered,

"Do you want to pet him?"

"H-Huh!?"

Noire gapes at me. Mouth open, cheeks red. She looked genuinely shocked.

"W-Why would I? Who would want to pet your chubby cat? Honestly, what kind of girl do you take me for?"

My 100% honest opinion: I have no idea.

I guess I'll find out.

"You know, Rollo tends to give a rather cute reaction if you tickle his chin while sleeping."

"R-Really?"

Noire asks. For a moment, she actually seemed tempted. She got that dazed look in her eye.

Then as if she had just woken up from a dream, snaps,

"I-I mean...So? Why are you telling me this? It's not like I want to see that...cute reaction...or anything."

She sounded like she was in pain somewhere around the end. Hmm...

"Really? That's too bad. Rollo really likes it when somebody scratches under his chin. Especially if it's from a cute girl."

I say that while scratching the side of Rollo's belly playfully with my index finger. Rollo tosses around a few times but doesn't react anymore than that.

"..."

Noire just sits there frozen, eyes half-open as she looks at me for a moment. Her cheeks became an even deeper shade of red than before.

At this point, only god knows what's going through her head right now...Literally.

1 second...2 seconds...3 seconds...4-

"W-Well..."

Noire *ahem* clears her throat and it looked like that massive invisible wall composed of her own pride was crumbling down. She says to me with a shaky voice,

"I-I guess if you put it like that, t-then it can't really be helped..."

I noticed the significant drop on her shoulders as if a giant weight's been lifted.

Looking a little bit more composed, Noire runs her delicate fingers through one of her twin tails, her profile looking a lot more confident now.

"I mean, I'd feel bad for this cat for having quiet, unreliable guy for an owner, always being over-fed and under-exercised. As a CPU, it is my duty that Gamindustri's citizens, even this cat are happy."

'Quiet, unreliable guy'? Sheesh, she didn't have to be rude about it.

"It's nice to see that you two are becoming good friends very quickly."

Histoire, who suddenly appeared above both of our heads says with a gentle smile on her face.

At her statement, Noire's face suddenly flashes red and she screams,

"W-We're not friends or anything! Who'd want to be friends with a guy like him anyways?"

Noire points her finger at me from across the table.

She then crosses her arms and darts her eyes straight at Histoire. Her cheeks were still flustered.

"J-Just for the record, L-Ludger was just asking me if I'm willing to take care of his cat at times when he's away. I-It's not like I can say no when someone asks for my help right? I'm a CPU after all."

...Wait, I never asked her if she could do that.

That's what I thought but I decided to keep my mouth shut her to save face. Well, I suppose since I 'asked', and she 'agreed', I might as well take her up on that whenever I need a sitter for Rollo.

Histoire, placing a finger on her cheek, nods her head.

"Ah, I see. So that's what was going on. By the way, Ludger. I have a favor I'd like to ask of you, if that's alright."

Histoire's attention then turns to me to which I can only raise my eyebrow discerningly.

"What is it, Histoire?"

"First, allow me to thank you for the pudding. It was delicious. Second, do you think you can assist me with duties around the Basillicom every now and then?"

It seems like a rather standard request. Perhaps a bit TOO standard.

"If you don't mind me asking, why...?"

Histoire heaves a sigh and fashioned a weak smile across her face.

"Well, as you know, Neptune's work ethic can be...pretty much non-existent. And even though Nepgear's been working hard, I'm afraid we're doing at best the bare minimum amount of work to keep Planeptune's Shares at an adequate level."

"Shares?"

I tilt my head to the side in confusion.

Noire answers,

"Shares are essentially the amount of influence a CPU and her nation has all over Gamindustri. Shares are the amount of belief people have in a CPU. The more shares a CPU and her nation has, the more powerful they are. The majority of the Shares are divided between the four nations."

"Ah, I see..."

Basically Shares are what gives CPU's their power, and therefore, keeps their nation's going.

So the future of Planeptune is dependent on how many shares Neptune has.

So this would affect me as well.

Thinking about it for a bit, I scratched my cheek and said,

"I guess I could help but what exactly can I do?"

"It won't be anything complicated and I won't ask you to do it for free either. Any duties I might have for you do will be placed in the form of a job request, similar to the Guilds. Most of the work will likely involve defeating the monsters around Planeptune and I'll be sure to reward you for your work upon completion. More importantly though, I'm hoping you could at least help Nepgear and motivate Neptune to actually do her own work."

Histoire must have it really tough the way she explained it. At this point, I probably can't refuse under those circumstances, especially while watching Neptune play games.

If that's what she's been doing every day her whole life then it's some terrifying miracle this country's still standing at all.

"Umm, I'll try my best but I don't think I can whip Neptune into shape if you can't."

I answered Histoire honestly. There's no way I could ever lecture Neptune exactly quite like Histoire can. I don't think I'd want to if I could anyways.

Histoire looked like she was thinking seriously for a moment, then as if a light bulb turned on inside her, said,

"I know. Neptune really enjoyed eating your pudding. Perhaps you can motivate her by cooking up something for her as a reward?"

"Bribing Neptune with food...That might actually work."

"For once, I agree with you there."

Noire nods her head with half-opened eyes.

I still had one more question to ask Histoire before I could accept,

"Umm, but why me? Surely, you'd find more people capable than me to do the work you need, right?"

HIstoire's answer was not quite what I expected.

"...We've already been through all of them."

"Huh?"

"It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that we've hired every Guild Member to assist us at least once. However, for one reason or another, we end up letting them go."

I gulped back a large amount of saliva and hesitantly asked,

"I'm almost too scared to ask but...those reasons are...?"

"Well, there are times they'd quit because they're being overworked, and those we had to let go when their services became too costly. There are those who weren't efficient enough to meet our needs and those who were so efficient that it only seems to promote Neptune's laziness. Then we get the types who are essentially Purple-Heart fanboys and they're..."

"Okay, okay, I think I get it!"

I immediately stopped Histoire at the mention of the word 'fanboy'. I didn't want to hear anymore than that.

Normally when the topic of fanboys are mentioned coming close to the object of their affection in a situation like this, it usually leads to a mountain of weird, uncomfortable stories that'll leave me awkward in a lot of ways for the rest of my life.

"Oh! That reminds me!"

Histoire abruptly shouted.

"I remember a year back, there was this one Guild agent, who was arguably the best candidate I ever met. He performed every task efficiently and even cleaned up the monsters that was meant only for CPUs. During his time here, Planeptune's Shares were higher than it's ever been."

"...What happened to him?"

"Unfortunately, he did his job so well that Neptune ended up doing no work at all and she spent every day, lazing around, eating snacks and playing video games. Naturally, he got so fed up with Neptune's behavior that he up and left, never to return. Since then, he no longer comes to the Basillicom and would immediately reject any job request that the Basillicom would send to him, regardless of the circumstances."

"That's an unfortunate story. Rather, I feel bad for that guy..."

One can only imagine the frustration to work for such a lazy goddess.

...Huh, that reminds me of a story...

About a year ago, Julius came home from work with a really scary look on his face.

Honestly, it was my first time ever seeing Julius so angry. Actually, that may have been my first time seeing Julius angry at all.

Of course, Julius hid that anger when he spoke to me. He didn't raise his voice and his eyes looked kind like he always did.

I asked what was wrong and he simply replied, 'I just had a rough day at work today' and quickly dropped the subject. I felt I shouldn't ask anymore than that afterwards.

Man, that was a scary day.

Could it be...?

No, it couldn't. What am I thinking...?

I scratched the back of my head, looked at Histoire and said,

"I guess I can at least give it a try and see what happens. I'm new to this kind of work anyways so it might be good to get experience like this as soon as possible."

Hearing my answer, Histoire claps her hands with delight.

"Oh, wonderful. I'm glad you agreed. I feel like I could breathe much easier with you on board, Ludger. I'll be counting on you from now on. Please wait, while I make this official."

Histoire sits there in place. Her eyes looked like a possessed doll as it was vacantly staring into some kind of unknown space.

And then...

[You have gained the title 'Neptune's Babysitter' and 'Chump'!]

What the hell is that!? More importantly, what the hell is with those titles!? I get the babysitter part considering that's pretty much what the job description is but the second one is just downright insulting!

Noire flashes a funny smile at me. She looked like she was ready to laugh her head off.

"So you're Neptune's new babysitter now? This'll be fun..."

Julius, it feels like my life is subtly spiraling out of my control. What should I do?

...Wait a minute, he's alive. I'll just ask him when I get home.

**Skits:**

**Neptune and Ludger**

Neptune: Hmm...

Ludger: Neptune...are you actually thinking right now?

Neptune: Hey, what's that supposed to mean? You know I can use my brain when I want to...I just don't want to most of the time.

Ludger: Yeah, yeah...so what's on your mind right now?

Neptune: Hmm well I was just thinking if I should have two regular size puddings for dessert or one giant pudding for dessert.

Ludger: They're both puddings?

Neptune: They can only be pudding!

Ludger: I fail to see what the problem is here...

Neptune: Huh? You don't get it? Two regular sized or one large! The quantity! Quantity! Which one has the most pudding so I can enjoy it more! Should I go for a huge portion or double it up with two regular portions! Which one gets me more pudding! Answer me that, Ludger?

Ludger: If you're just aiming for the most amount of pudding, why not just get both?

Neptune: *gasp* You're right! Why didn't I realize it sooner! That's as big as both those two combined! Double the pudding! You're a genius, Ludger!

Ludger: Please start using that brain of yours just a little bit more.

Neptune: By the way, what's for dinner, Ludger? I'm starving!

Ludger: ...

**Nepgear's Skirt**

Ludger: Nepgear, can I ask you something?

Nepgear: Yes? What is it?

Ludger: It's about your outfit.

Nepgear: It's cute, right? This is actually my favorite outfit.

Ludger: It looks nice but doesn't it get in the way though?

Nepgear: What do you mean?

Ludger: I mean, the skirt's so short, if you were to jump or fight, people might be able to see what's under, you see.

Nepgear:...Huh?

Ludger: What?

Nepgear: W-W-W-W-WHAT!? I-Is that true!?

Ludger: W-Wait, you mean you never knew!?

Nepgear: I-It's the first I heard of it! Neptune! Is what Ludger saying true?!

Neptune: Huh? Yeah, totally! I mean, we all knew.

Nepgear: Y-You knew this whole time!?

Neptune: Yep. Yessir! I knew it all along! In fact, whenever you get set as the Party Leader and the camera is shifted to just the right angle, the player can catch a glimpse of your panties like a total pervo.

Nepgear: I-I can't believe it! You suck, Neptune! Waaaaaaaaaaahh!

Ludger: N-Nepgear! S-She ran away...

Neptune: Aw, Nepgear. My cute little sister, getting all flustered from talking with a guy.

Ludger: No, no, no, that's definitely NOT the problem here!

**Noire and Rollo**

Noire: Huh? What do we have here?

Rollo: Meow...

Noire: It looks like Ludger left his cat here.

Rollo: Meow...

Noire:...

Rollo: Meow...?

Noire:...It doesn't look like Ludger will be coming back anytime soon. Alright...

Rollo: Meow?

Noire: H-Hey, is it okay if I...pet you? Just for a little bit.

Rollo: Meow!

Noire: A-Alright then, please excuse me...

Rollo: Meow...

Noire: W-Wow, you have some really soft fur...A nice squishy belly...Ohh, what amazingly soft paw pads you have...

Rollo: Meow.

Noire: M-Meow...

Rollo: Meow...

Noire: M-Meow, Meow, Meow...

Rollo: Meow, Meow, Meow...

Noire: Oh, such nice paw pads. If only I could feel this softness every day, I'd...

Ludger: Rollo! Your food's ready! Come and get i-Bwahh, Noire!

Noire: L-Ludger!?

Ludger: I...I, uh...Oh boy, this is awkward. Didn't expect to walk in to that...Umm, I'll uh...This food...This food is Rollo's. Make...Make sure he eats it, okay? I'll uh, I'll go over there and...and uh, do stuff for a while so...ta-take your time!

...

Noire:...Ka...

Rollo: Meow?

Noire: Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

**Blanc and Ludger**

Ludger: It's a pleasure to meet you, Blanc

Blanc: Likewise...

Ludger:...

Blanc:...

Ludger:...

Blanc:...

Ludger: (This silence is rather awkward. I should probably say something to break the ice)

Ludger: Umm...

Blanc: You're good at cooking, right?

Ludger: H-Huh? Y-Yeah, I suppose I am.

Blanc: And you're good at house chores too?

Ludger: I've done more than my fair share at home.

Blanc: How are you at taking care of kids?

Ludger: I've never done it before but I'm willing to try.

Blanc: Okay then how about twins?

Ludger: These questions are getting more and more specific. What's going on?

Blanc: I've been looking for a new babysitter to look after my little sisters, Ram and Rom after their old one got eaten by a monster. You seem to fit most of the qualifications I'm looking for in a candidate so you're hired.

Ludger: Wait, when did this become a job interview?!

**Vert and Ludger**

Vert: It's a pleasure to meet you, Ludger.

Ludger: Y-Yes, same here.

Vert:...

Ludger: Umm, is there something on my face?

Vert: Oh no, nothing like that but...Ludger, you wouldn't happen to have an older sibling, would you?

Ludger: Y-Yes! How did you know?!

Vert: Ufu, I knew it. Call it intuition but you had that scent of a younger sibling about you.

Ludger: I-I never knew such a scent even existed.

Vert: So? Is it an older sister or brother?

Ludger: A brother.

Vert: Ah, I see, an older brother. Well then, Ludger, how would you like to have an older sister?

Ludger: Huh?

Vert: And I'll take you in as my little brother from now on. Ufu, now I have a younger sibling to call my own. And a little brother too. Even the other CPUs don't have little brothers. Finally, a cute little sibling all to my own. Don't worry, Ludger, if there's anything troubling you, please feel free to come to your older sister for help. Anything. at. all.

Ludger: Vert, you're scaring me.


End file.
